


Scary Love.

by ro6ino



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Lotura - Freeform, M/M, Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Pidge Holt, Shadam, hunk - Freeform, jade - Freeform, james griffin - Freeform, klance, ryan kinkade - Freeform, vld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-06-30 02:38:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15742446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ro6ino/pseuds/ro6ino
Summary: An oblivious gay and a disastrous bi.High School Senior! AUI respect your ships and opinions, please respect mine.





	1. Peanut / 1

"That's the new guy? He's soooo cute!" Keith heard one of his classmates say as he took a bite of his sandwich that his brother prepared for him. All day he's heard nothing but compliments from other girls at his new school. And he'd have to deal with them until he hit eighth grade, maybe even 'til the end of high school if they were all attending the same one. Keith was homeschooled up to this point, fifth grade, his brother felt that he was ready (and stable enough) to go to school with other kids. He turned around, feeling someone's eyes glaring through him. He'd never seen anyone like that before, absolutely adorable. There was a small boy hiding behind his bigger friend, glaring at him, seemingly annoyed. 

"Y-you think you're so cool because all the girls like you! Well, you know what they call me? They call me the tailor because of how I..(he forgot what his older brother had said) I-I'm better than you!" He said before the two ran off, the bigger one looking nervous. Keith had to admit, he didn't pay attention to what that kid said, aside from what he said they called him.

"..Taylor?" Keith mumbled in a blush. He felt so many feelings, and he didn't bother denying them. He thought that boy was cute. Keith got up and put his lunch away, he'd suddenly gained an appetite for something else.

 

~

 

"Ha! I sure told him!" Lance told Hunk as the two sat down under a tree.

"Yeah, he definitely looked intimidated." Hunk said, sarcastically. Lance couldn't tell. 

"Hey Peanut." The two heard someone behind them say. A cold wave of fear washed over Lance, Hunk as well.

"J-James.." Lance mumbled. They turned around and saw the local Petty Patrol™ (James and his 'crew'). James stood there with a gross smirk on his face. 

"What's for lunch?" He asked. Lance frowned. He actually wanted his lunch today, it consisted of yesterday's leftovers from dinner.

"No! I want to keep my lunch today.." Lance said, trying to stand up for himself. 

"Did you guys hear something?" One of the girls in his group said. 

"Last I checked, peanuts don't talk." James smirked. 

"Hey, leave them alone!" Lance heard someone call out. Everyone turned to look, Lance wasn't happy.

"Oh, great." He said to himself. Keith stood in front of on James, holding his head up high, showing he wasn't afraid to fight.

"Keith! I can fight my own fi-" Lance was cut off my James, Keith wasn't paying attention to what Lance said anyway, he was too busy being 'intimidating'. 

"Get lost, newbie. You're next on my list, I've read about you in files at the office. My mom is the vice principal." James snarled. Keith clenched his fist, slightly. 

"What makes you think you have the right to mess with people like that? You're a rat! You're no better than anybody else! I would say we're all equal, but people that are lower than the dirt below my feet exist, and you're one of them. You're nothing but a nasty accident!" Keith told him. James smirked.

"Is that what mommy and daddy told you before they-" Keith punched him before he could finish his sentence. The other kids immediately tried to stop Keith, the girls were terrified yet they seemed to be more drawn to Keith then they already were. Soon enough, supervision came and took the two boys into the main office. Although he was slightly grateful, Lance mainly felt weak and useless, he didn't like it. And so, he had another reason to try to one-up Keith. 

"It is SO on, Kogane!"

 

~

 

"Really, Keith? On your first day?" His older brother asked him. Keith was somewhat ashamed, but didn't care. He was given another chance, thanks to Shiro being so close to a member on the staff, rather than being expelled he was suspended for three days. James only got to go home for the day and come back the next. On the car ride home, Keith couldn't stop thinking about his newfound crush. Shiro noticed something was bothering Keith, and he wanted to know what it was.

"So aside from the..incident..how was your-" Keith cut him off.

"Shiro." He said with a pure red face.

"Yeah?" He grew anxious.

"If you don't think normal school is for you, we can always just bring you back to homeschooling-" Keith cut him off again.

"Y'know how you like Adam, right? And it's totally normal?" He asked. Shiro nodded.

"Well..I-I think I like a boy too."


	2. Jboy / 2

"You think Keith's okay? It's been a week and he isn't back yet." Hunk asked Lance. It was now their final year at Garrison K-8 Elementary. The students would be 'graduating' soon, but Keith has been gone quite a bit lately. 

"Who cares? We're finally gonna get out of this freaking school! Besides, he probably finally got expelled for arguing with James again." Lance said. He was still short, unfortunately. Late bloomer. 

"Yeah, you're probably right." Hunk said in a shrug-it-off tone. The two sat on the rooftop of the school, looking down upon it as the sun began to set. Pointing out each little area and reminiscing over it.

"Y'know I kinda feel bad for Keith. " Hunk said, thinking aloud. Lance raised an eyebrow.

"You..feel bad for him? Why?" Lance asked.

"Well, he transferred here from being homeschooled, never in his three years here has he ever had friends, and due to being homeschooled I don't think he even knows what a friend even is." Hunk said. Lance never even though about it like that. He started to feel bad. He remembered that time Keith 'saved' him from James and his group. He never did thank him. 

"Bro we should be his friends." Lance suggested.

"What!? This late? What if we're not going to the same high school as him?" Hunk asked him. Lance looked at his phone that was laying beside him.

"We can get him to trust us, then we'll just give him our number. If we don't end up with him, he'll always have us to talk to. We'll make a group chat." Lance smiled. He felt like he had to thank Keith, now was his time to do it. 

 

~next day~

 

"I have called you up because I've been informed you know Keith Kogane's locker combination." Said the principal. Lance nodded.

"I know it, sir." He said. He remembered the time Keith was in trouble and had asked Lance to fetch something from his locker, giving him the combination.

"Good. I'd like you to clean out. Mr. Kogane won't be returning to Garrison Elementary." He said, then walked away. Lance sat there is shock. This time, Keith wasn't coming back. He sighed and walked off to do what he was told.

"Stupid Keith, always ahead of me." He mumbled as he moved the arrow on the lock. It opened, and Lance was bombarded with books. Some from the library, most likely all overdue, and the rest were worn out notebooks.

"Ouch." Lance said as he picked a book up and looked at the cover. 

"Why does Keith keep a copy of 'The Notebook' in his locker..?" Lance asked himself. He picked up another book and noticed it was also a romance book. He looked through all of them, noticing sticky notes and page markers in all of them. He opened a marked page in one of Keith's notebooks.

"(quote) Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters (end quote)." Lance read aloud. He noticed 'love' was underlined in red. He flipped the page and saw a whole new side of Keith he never thought he'd see. He started laughing, the entire page consisted of one name written over and over again, surrounded by hearts.

"Oh my god-Keith likes Taylor!" Lance laughed to himself. He felt the urge to expose Keith with him being gone and all, but he didn't. Lance merely snapped a photo of it to show Hunk later, he wanted to be the only person who has the image. He wanted to return all this stuff back to Keith. He closed the notebook and put the other notebooks together. One of them fell, opening to a page with a drawing. The drawing consisted of a middle aged man smiling in a firefighter uniform. He had something in his arms, as if he were carrying something small. The drawing is incomplete, so Lance can't really tell what/who it was. 

"Wow, Keith draws pretty good." Lance said as he picked it up. After analyzing details, he closed it and put it in his backpack, along with the others. Lance didn't know, but if he had flipped at least one page after looking at that drawing of Keith's father, he would've seen drawing of himself surrounded by hearts, even drawings of him and Keith. But he didn’t.

 

~

 

 

"Thank you so much for returning these, we were close to buying new one's considering how long they've been gone." The librarian laughed. 

"Take care!" Lance said as he left the library. He held onto his backpack straps as he walked. He then felt his phone buzz, it was a text from Hunk, but Lance ignored it. He wanted to walk home through his shortcut, he felt like spending the afternoon with himself. He popped his earbuds into his ears and hit his spanish rock playlist on shuffle. 

"Hey peanut!" Someone called out, but Lance didn't hear them. The person got closer as Lance was walking into an alleyway. 

"It's the animal instinct.." Lance sang softly. He then felt someone grab his shoulder. He gasped and pulled his earbuds out.

"James wh-" He was cut off by a pissed off James. His girlfriend had dumped him because she took an interest in Lance, and coincidentally he spotted Lance walking home so he decided to mess with him.

"Shut it, Peanut." He said as he took Lance's backpack, poured some sort of liquid he had in his hands on the backpack, pulled out a lighter, and set it on fire. Lance stood there in confusion, his anger building up. He restrained himself until he remembered Keith's stuff was in there too.

"What the actual fuck, James!?" He yelled. This took James by surprise. 

"This is your fault, so just shut up!" He said as he shoved Lance to the ground. Lance clenched his teeth.

"You low-life bastard, how is any of this my fault!? You're the one burning my stuff! Just stop messing with me, will you!?" James grew impatient.

"Or what? Is Keith gonna come save you again? Oh no I'm sooooo scared. It's about damn time that asshole got expelled, serves him right." He said. Lance couldn't stand that, people talking horribly about others. He basically tackled James from under his legs and knocked him down. Lance began kicking him out of anger.

"Don't say shit about him again." Lance said as he stopped kicking. The fire continued to burn as Lance walked through the alleyway, and out. Leaving James lifting himself up from the floor in anger, pain, and frustration.


	3. Thoughts / 3

"I hope you won't be any..trouble." The teacher told Keith as he introduced him to the class.

"We have a seating chart in this classroom so your assigned seat is..last seat in the second row. Your partner is-Lance raise your hand." The teacher said. Lance did so, in slight shock to see Keith again. He'd never thought he'd see him again after eighth grade.

"That's your partner. He will explain everything else we do in this classroom. Rules are strictly enforced." He said. Keith went to go sit down, he didn't pay attention to whoever raised their hand. He didn't care much about getting to know people.

"H-hey man." He heard someone next to him say. Keith looked over and a wave of confusion washed over him. He felt his face heat up, there was no way that this was Taylor!

"The name's Lance." He said. Keith let out a relieved sigh. 

"Do I know you?" Keith asked. Lance looked offended.

"We were in the same class at Garrison Elementary for three years, dude." He said. Keith didn't remember anyone by the name of Lance, but then again he never really did pay attention. 

"I guess I don't remember you, sorry." Keith half-assed the apology. 

"Not cool, man. You stood up to James for me the first day we met, how can you not remember that?" Lance mumbled. Keith's eyes grew wide.

"Wait yo-" He was cut off.

"Mister Kogane, I will not make an exception and have you disturbing my class just because you're new." Mr. Grosh said. Keith looked away, he could feel his heartbeat radiate throughout his body. He thought to himself 'no way, his name isn't Taylor? It's Lance? He told me it was Taylor?'. He tried his best to keep himself calm. He then saw a sticky note land on his desk. 

'Meet me at the old table behind the school gym during Lunch, we have a lot to catch up on.' It said. Keith looked at Lance, and they met eye to eye. Keith felt his heart bump. It was gonna be a long final year. 

 

~

 

"You'll never guess who's back." Lance told Hunk as they walked to their Biochemistry class. 

"Who?" Hunk asked. 

"Keith!" Lance exclaimed. Hunk's jaw dropped. 

"Who?" Pidge, their Sophomore friend, asked as she caught up with them.

"No way-the guy who saved our butts back in fifth grade? Are you sure?" Hunk asked. Lance nodded repeatedly. 

"Who's Keith?" Pidge asked. 

"I invited him to sit with us at Lunch, you'll meet him then." Lance told her. She nodded.

"Dude he's totally different! You can tell he's been into some deep shit, he's way more mature and totally ripped! He has this gnarly scar—still has that stupid mullet, it's longer, but I guess some things just don't change." Lance explained. 

"Did he remember you?" Hunk asked. Pidge smirked at the way Lance mentioned that, of all things. 

"Not exactly, not until I mentioned the whole thing that happened with James anyway. He seemed to remember then but Grosh called him out for talking in class, so I don't know for sure." Lance mentions.

"Wow, Keith's quite the character." She says.

"That he is.." Lance mumbles. It might not be clear yet, but Pidge definitely has her suspicion. The three walked into class, Pidge continuously wondering about this "Keith" character.


	4. Good People / 4

Keith was utterly confused, and quite shocked. He's liked Tay-no, Lance. He's liked Lance for three years and he never happened to find out his real name! Keith thought to himself: How did I never catch that? Was I that idiotic? Wait why'd he even call himself 'Taylor' in the first place? 

The bell rang, causing Keith's questions to disperse. He grabbed his stuff, not really knowing what class he was in, and left. Old habits never change, he still hardly ever paid attention when it came to education, yet he always ended up with passing scores. Astronomy was his game, he was a practical genius on the subject. It's one of the few things he's interested in these days, drastic change from when he was a child. He walked down the hall while looking at the slip of paper in his hands, trying to figure out what class he has next.

"Oh, it's time for lunch." He mumbled to himself as he put the slip of paper away in his canvas satchel. He didn't like lunch hour, it meant he either had to socialize or be judged by others for being alone.

"Oh wait." He mumbled to himself as he remembered Lance's invitation. He pulled out the small note and walked out of the folding doors. Once he caught sight of the school gym, he made his way over there and began regretting his footsteps as soon as he caught sight of someone he'd completely forgotten about. 

"James." Keith whispers under his breath. James caught sight of Keith, and for a good five seconds, the two kept eye contact. James' face contained a slight pink tint on his cheeks, whilst Keith felt nothing but annoyance. Keith turned his gaze away, James did not. Keith continued to walk towards his old classmates, behind the gym. 

"He's not bothering me, I shouldn't start fights. Besides, he's probably matured, could be totally different." He mumbled to himself. He stops once he hears someone calling his name.

"Keith! Keith, wait!" He turns around to see James running towards him. 

"Long time no—" Keith was cut off, the sass in his voice lingering in the air. 

"I don't intend to fight and I certainly do not wish for us to be on bad terms. I came to apologize for what I said those years ago. I was an ignorant and rude child. I want us to be clear, if you will accept my apology." He said. His words sounded true, but Keith still had that 1% doubt. He stuck his hand out for James to shake, James looked at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry I punched you in the face that time." Keith apologized as well. James took his hand and shook it with a soft smile on his face.

"There's no need for that, I honestly deserved it." He said in an embarrassed laugh. Maybe Keith was right, maybe James has changed. 

"Ah—here's my number in case you ever wish to talk or hang out, whenever you want of course." He said as he pulled out his phone. Keith saved it in his contacts and nodded, then James he did the same. 

"You might not trust me yet, which I understand, but I really am just trying to make amends with you." He said in a heartfelt tone. His words were genuine, Keith could tell. 

"I'll take your word for it." Keith said. With that, James gave a simple wave and walked back to his own friends. Keith turned around with a smile on his face, things were starting to look good for him.

"Hey!" Keith heard Lance call out. He looked up and saw the bright boy next to someone familiar, wearing a yellow bandanna, and someone that looked like a mix between a small male and thin female. They looked like someone Shiro works with. 

"Hi..I'm Keith." Keith said to the two. Hunk stood up in excitement.

"No way! You're actually back!" Hunk exclaimed, his glasses slightly bounced on his face from his movement.

"I'm sure you remember this big lug, Hunk." Lance said. Keith's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah! I knew you looked familiar." He said. 

"And this is Pidge, she's the smart one." Lance said in a laugh. 

"You look a lot like Matt Holt, some semi-famous astronaut my brother works with." Keith mentioned. Pidge's eyes sparkled.

"That's my brother!" She said in excitement. 

"Matthew Holt, engineering directorate, currently on mission! Who's your brother?" She asked. 

"Takashi Shirogane, exploration integration and science directorate, currently leading the mission!" He said. 

"Oh my god—Shiro is your brother!? Holy shit that's amazing, he's broken nearly every record in astronomical history!" Pidge exclaimed. Finally, Keith had someone to share his astronomical nonsense with. The group quickly grew accustomed to Keith, however Keith felt like he somehow didn't quite belong. They were quite the geeky bunch, cute.


	5. Buzzin / 5

Keith walked out of his final class, exhausted. He couldn't wait to get home to his mom's cooking and pet dog.

"Keith!" He heard Lance call from across the hall. He stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"What's up?" Keith asked. Lance whipped out his phone.

"I totally forgot earlier, but here's my number!" He exclaimed. Keith blushed as he took out his phone. The two exchanged numbers and walked out of the school together.

"Which way do you go?" Lance asked. 

"I live right by the beach on Pacific, a good thirty minute walk from here. What about you?" Keith told him.

"I live near there. It's cool though! Means we can walk home together!" He said as they walked side by side. 

"So how have things been? Y'know, since you were expelled?" Lance hesitated to ask. 

"Things went...well. Went downhill for a bit I guess but now things are looking good." He responded.

"Why'd you come back?" Lance asked, not realizing how rude it sounded. 

"Well..I found my real mom. She moved in from the countryside, apparently always wanted a beach house. I told her I wanted to go to school again and..yeah. This was the closest school, coincidentally it happened to be the school I was initially going to go to, with you guys." Keith mumbled at the end. Lance realized that he probably shouldn't ask any more about his personal life. He put his hand on Keith's shoulder.

"Well I'm totally glad you came back. Glad you found your mom, too!" He said. Keith gave a soft smile.

"Thank you." He said. Lance nodded and the two boys continued to walk in a comfortable silence. Soon enough, they had to part ways because Lance lived about ten minutes away from where Keith lived, Lance's house being closer to the school. 

"You sure you don't want to play dungeons and dragons with us later? It'll be great." Lance asked, a third time. Keith laughed and shook his head.

"No thanks, you nerd." He said in a laugh as he stopped walking and watched Lance head inside.

"Alright then, I'll see ya tomorrow, buddy!" Lance waved as he walked into his house. Keith waved, then continued walking home. He popped in his ear buds and looked around at the town he missed. He remembered when he had to move because of Shiro's work, unfortunately Adam opposed it and left. Keith knew how much it hurt them both, but Shiro always put his work before anything else. Keith kinda admired that, but at the same time, he didn't like how much work consumed his brother. Luckily he has his mother now, once Shiro comes back, Keith's worries will be over.

"I'm home." Keith called out as he shut the door and took off his things. Kosmo charged at him, knocking him down, and began licking his face.

"Who's a good boy? You are!" Keith said in between laughs. He eventually got up and looked around for his mom. He found her sitting in the patio, practically mesmerized by the ocean. 

"Hey mom, you okay?" Keith asked as he opened the screen door. Krolia turned around to look at him, and Keith noticed her dried tears. She was most likely thinking about her memories with Keith's father. 

"Welcome home, Keith. How was school?" She asked, not wanting to talk about herself. Keith was fine with that, he understood.

"School was pretty good, I actually have friends now." Keith said, in an optimistic tone. Krolia smiled. 

"That's good, I'm glad you aren't alone anymore." She says. Keith sits next to her, looking out into the ocean alongside her.

"I'm not alone anymore." Keith mumbled in a smile. 

 

~

 

"Mamá I'm home!" Lance said as he walked into the house*.

"Welcome back." His mother said from the kitchen. Lance was greeted by his niece and nephew. 

"What's up twerp." His older brother, Marco, called out from the living room. Lance sat down next to him. 

"You won't believe who's back at school." Lance said as he and his brother kept their eyes on the video game Marco was playing. 

"Who?" Marco asked. 

"Remember that time in 5th grade I told you about? When I said the new kid totally wrecked James?" Lance asked.

"Yeah—oh what's his name.." His brother mumbled. 

"Keith. He's back." Lance said as Marco then died in the game.

"Aw, your boyfriend." Rachel teased as she and Veronica walked in from her room. 

"Hey, don't joke about stuff like that!" Their mother called from the kitchen, referring to the gay joke. Veronica playfully punched Rachel's arm.

"He's not my—aren't you supposed to be at the station?" Lance asked Veronica.

"I took the day off." She mentioned. He nodded.

"So anyway, this 'Keith' guy?" She asked as they both sat down next to the two boys. Lance blushed slightly.

"He's just an old—friend—I guess you could say. We weren't exactly close back then but he trusted Hunk & I. He's back and he's completely different!" He told them as Marco handed him the control and got up to get a snack. 

"What's he like now?" Rachel asked.

"He's gotten taller, totally ripped, freaking grizzled, and he has this pretty neat scar running across his right cheek. He's way more mature and calm now too." He said as he struggled in the game. His choice of words peaked Veronica's interest.

"Is he cute?" She asked. Lance dropped the controller, accidentally killing himself in the game. 

"I-I guess some girls would think so, not all." He said, flustered. They smirked.

"He seems cool." Rachel said. Lance snapped his fingers. 

"That's right—his brother is leading the operation your base is currently in charge of." He said to Veronica, she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why—that'd be Takashi Shirogane!" She said in slight amazement. 

"Yeah, that's him." Lance told her.

"That's impossible, Shiro doesn't have any siblings." She said. Hearing that made Lance's head turn. 

"W-what?" He asked. 

"I've read his files, he's got no siblings." She informed him. Lance was utterly confused. Was Keith..lying? Just as he thought that, he received a >text<.

"Speak of the devil." He mumbled. 

 

>Hey, it's Keith.<

 

>What's up, mullet?<

 

* Lance speaks purely Spanish at home, except to the kids who are still learning.


	6. This Side of Paradise / 6

It had been almost two months since school started, and Keith still resented being there. He admitted to himself that the only reason he hasn't completely ditched was because he has classes with Lance and he gets to walk to school and back home with him. Keith and James would often see each other around the halls, exchanging greetings but not really anything more. Keith always saw a tall and fairly muscular guy next to or around James, Keith's curiosity only grew as the time passed by.

"Hey man, you free tomorrow?" Lance said as he met Keith in front of the school so the two could walk home.

"Yeah, I don't have anything planned. What's up?" Keith asked as they began walking.

"Allura put together this whole beach bonfire thing for us seniors. Isn't she amazing?" Keith cringed at the way Lance fawned over her. 'Of course she had to do it, she's ASB Vice President.' Keith thought to himself.

"Yeah, she's just perfect." Keith mumbled.

"Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to come with us." Lance said, snapping out of his daze. Keith didn't typically like social gatherings but he couldn't seem to turn down Lance, seeing him with such excitement in his eyes.

"Yeah sure, I'll go." Keith told him. Lance's eyes sparked.

"Awesome! I'll send you the information and tower number through text later. Oh man this is gonna be great." Lance told him. Keith liked seeing Lance like this, all caught up in happiness. For the rest of their walk, Keith listened to Lance go on and on about his beach adventures as a child. Keith would occasionally laugh and hearing him made Lance feel something spark inside, he figured he was just glad he was friends with Keith.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, I'll text you!" Lance said as he opened the gate to his front yard.

"Great." Keith said to him in a wave. Once Lance shut the door, Keith walked over to his place. He texted his mom for confirmation about tomorrow, considering she was most likely at work. She recently got a job last month, some company named the 'B.O.M.' or whatever, Keith had no idea what it really was.

>Do we have plans tomorrow? I want to hang out with some friends.<

>We don't. I have to take the night shift tomorrow, being new and all, and I probably won't be home til morning. You go enjoy yourself, just don't be home too late.<

>Okay.<

"Cool." Keith told himself as he soon reached his front door. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door, revealing an ecstatic Kosmo, ready to pounce.

"Hey boy—" Keith was attacked and licked all over his face, the same reaction as every other time he walks in through the door. Keith rubbed his dog's fur in a playful manor, the dog nuzzling his snout against Keith's chest. Keith got up, threw his things into his room, and started playing music on his speakers. Once choosing a playlist that fit his mood, he walked into the kitchen to find a snack. He pulled out the leftover pizza from last night and popped two slices into the microwave. Keith jumped slightly at the ring from his phone signifying a text message. Since his phone was connected to the speakers and the volume was full, it obviously startled him. Keith walked pulled out his phone as he waited for his food.

>Lance <3 sent an image: Here's the info!<

Keith opened the message and looked over the information. Turns out the tower that everyone was gathering by was two towers away from his house. He began typing a response.

>Thanks. The tower is actually super close to my place, why don't you meet me here and we can both go together?<

Keith bit his inner lip, he felt like the text he had sent was a bit risqué, but that's not how Lance saw it.

>Oh dude that's awesome! We should totally rendezvous at your place.<

>Cool, here's my address: xxxxx Pacific Coast Hwy Huntington Beach, CA xxxxx<

The microwave beeped as Keith pressed send.

>Thanks man! ☆〜(ゝ。∂)<

Keith smiled at the emoticon Lance sent. Keith assumed that Lance felt like he could trust Keith, and that made Keith happy. Keith set down his phone, let 'Sweet Disposition' by The Temper Trap play, grabbed his food and drink, and sat outside in his patio, right above the sand. Kosmo curled up underneath in the chair beside Keith. He very much admired the ocean breeze and calming scent. He's glad to have moved back, he was definitely glad to be with Lance. He looked over at his dog, who rested peacefully beside him. He often ranted-or just talked to Kosmo these days. He didn't feel like bothering anyone, besides he didn't need a response. Today was one of those days, where he just went on and on to Kosmo about everything, even if he has repeated himself in the past.

"[...] and I mean to actually have come this far? I mean I have friends man! Sure it might be my last and only year to have them...I just never thought I'd get this far y'know? Actually feeling things toward a person, having these feelings grow as each day passes by—it's nice. Yeah sometimes I wished he liked me back, or at least considered liking me, but in all honesty, that's not gonna happen. It's pretty clear that he likes Allura, I mean I can't blame him, she's pretty amazing, but damn. Sometimes I look at him during lunch and imagine what it'd be like to hold his hand or-or hold him. But he's usually talking about how perfect Allura is and about how many girls asked for his number that week. He's clearly straight and I've lost my freaking mind! I mean, falling for a straight dude—what an idiot am I right?" Keith ended in a sigh. Kosmo scratched behind his ear.

"I really like him...a lot. I want him to be happy, even if his happiness isn't with me. As long as he's happy, I'll be fine." He said as he set down his cup, finishing his meal. Kosmo jumped out of his chair and onto Keith's lap to cuddle up against him. Keith began petting him.

"You're a good dog, thanks for listening to me." He told his dog, knowing that he couldn't care less. Kosmo licked Keith's cheeks three times before getting back into his cuddling position on his lap.

"Oh, that's right. Tomorrow's also my birthday." Keith reminded himself as he pulled out his phone, considering calling Lance. He shook his head and scrolled through his contacts. He felt like hanging out with someone, he didn't want to feel alone that afternoon (Kosmo not included). He ended up reaching the bottom of his list, where he saw the contact "James". It's been two months, nothing bad has happened with James, Keith decided to text him.

>Hey James, it's Keith.<

>Oh, hey! What's up?<

>It might sound kind of weird, but do you wanna hang out or something? Today?<

>Yeah I'm down! May I ask: Why the sudden change of heart?<

>I'll tell you once I see you. Meet up at that one cafe on Main Street in 20 minuets?<

>Okay, perfect.<


	7. Snap Out of It / 7

Lance sat alone in his shared room. Neither Rachel, Marco, nor Veronica were home from work yet, and his brother Luis was away on a business trip abroad in Mexico. His nephew and niece were taking a nap, and his parents were busy dealing with taxes. He didn't mind the loneliness, it gave him time to think. He didn't have that kind of opportunity when everyone was here, he liked the peace. He received a text from Allura, in which he got very excited.

>Allura💘✨ sent an image.< >Information about tomorrow! Please help spread it around to all of the seniors! Thank you! xoxo<

Lance could tell that all of her texts were just copied and pasted, but he still didn't mind. Lance continuously tells himself that the only reason he hasn't made a move was because she was taken. Her boyfriend, Lotor, was a total genius when it came to need-work. Head of the school's academic decathlon team and top honor student in the subject of science and technology. Hell, he's been offered full scholarships from schools all over! Even M.I.T. offered him a scholarship! Lance didn't want to admit the real reason, he felt that it was just a fluke-his mind just being clouded by the fact that his crush was taken and it hurt him. He saved the image of the information, immediately forwarding it to Keith.

>You sent an image.< >Here's the info!<

Lance stared at his phone, waiting for a response. He liked texting Keith, believe it or not. Their conversation went on, Lance was excited for tomorrow. He grew excited thinking of how much fun he and his friends will have, hopefully he'll be able to show Keith a good time. Apparently even though he lives right by the beach, Keith doesn't think to have fun. Lance later realized it's because Keith is kind of an only child with his guardian 'brother' off in space. Unlike Lance, Keith didn't really have anyone to have fun with at the beach. His conversation with Keith ended, and Lance decided to be somewhat productive with his personal studies. He pulled out his guitar and tuned it, preparing to practice. He's very good, considering he's self taught. He knew how to play a couple songs, though he's not a very good singer, he sang anyway. Of course he had to play and sing softly due to him not wanting to wake his nephew and niece. Lance was the type of person to express their feelings through song, he's good with words too (as Keith, on the other hand, was more of an 'actions speak louder than words' kind of guy).

"What should I..." a song then popped into his head, perfectly expressing his emotions. He began strumming the acoustic cords to 'Venus' by Sleeping At Last. He looked at the time, just then realizing that he was nearly late for work, again.

"Oh my god—not again!" He exclaimed as he quickly changed into his work uniform and ran out of the room, forgetting to put his guitar away.

"I'm off to work, Mamá!" He exclaimed as he ran out of the house, grabbed his long board, and made his way into the busier part of the city. 

 

~

 

>Meet me in front of the bookstore.<

Keith sat in one of the tables in front of the bookstore & café.

>Alright.<

He adjusted his flannel then put his elbows on the small table, resting his chin above his hands. He doze off, thinking about Lance as a song that was stuck in his head played. He imagined Lance's bright smile gleaming as he ran into the water. He could hear his laugh clear as day, it make Keith feel warm.

"Keith?" He heard someone call out. He noticed James standing there, waving his hand across Keith's face. His other hand holding a small white stand that had the number 4 on it. He smelled like weed.

"You okay? I called your name three times." James said in a nervous chuckle. Keith put his hand on his face in embarrassment, he had a slight blush on his face. James noticed.

"Y-you reek of weed. You're not high, are you?" Keith asked as he looked up at him, he seemed normal. James shook his head.

"I'm not. I rarely smoke these days, my friends do. I was with them when you texted me, I was bored out of my mind while they ate junk and laughed at nothing. You're a lifesaver." He said in a laugh, Keith nodded. He'd always wondered what it'd be like to get high.

"You said you wanted to talk, right? So who's the girl?" James joked.

"Uhhh, well, it's not a—" Keith blushed and was cut off by the barista holding two drinks.

"Here are your—oh hey Keith!" Lance said. The number of swear words being said in Keith's head was insane, not even God could count them all. His face was pale, his heart raced. Lance looked so freaking adorable in his barista uniform. It wasn't much of a show, but he wore slim black pants, a denim three-quarter sleeve button up shirt, and a black waste apron. His dirty old shoes, being the iconic black and white high-top converse, somehow complimented his outfit.

"Hey Lance.." Keith managed to choke out. Lance looked at who was sitting in front of Keith and his tone completely changed, not in a good way.

"Griffin." He said, in somewhat of a greeting manner. His face slightly scrunched up when he caught a whiff of his odor.

"Nice to see you too, McClain." James said in a smirk, noticing Keith's reaction. They both kept in mind that Keith wasn't aware of what happened between them after him being expelled back in eighth grade, and James wanted to keep it that way. Lance was in a good mood, so he decided not to be petty today. Besides, he was more concerned as to why they were together. Something deep inside him began to panic, for some reason his heart began racing. He set the two drinks down, took the number, and walked back inside, saying something to Keith before heading in.

"Drinks are on me, for you bud. I'll text you." He said to Keith, soon disappearing inside the busy café. Keith managed to contain his blush, he turned his attention to the drink in front of him.

"But I didn't—" He was cut off.

"I did, just a normal mocha. Now thanks to your pal over there, they're free." He said in a smirk, urging to bring up the subject. Keith smiled.

"Thanks...a-anyway it isn't a girl. I just wanted to talk and..hang out with you because I-I guess I just thought being friends with you wouldn't be so bad..? I mean not that you're bad I just don't have...I mean I have friends but I mean I just—" James saved him the trouble of continuing, seeing Keith struggle like that was a bit humorous but mostly painful.

"You don't need a reason, Keith. It's cool. I'm just glad you finally decided to. Plus I've got the perfect idea on what we should do."


End file.
